Central Midfielder Positioning: 4-4-2

Many people are confused on how to position their central midfielders in a 4-4-2. I personally prefer to play with an attacking and holding midfield. It allows for your team to be balanced both offensively and defensively. In the picture below, found on BBC Sports (http://www.news.bbc.com), the two central midfielders are highlighted to give a clue to where they would be.

Job of Holding Midfielder

The job of the holding midfielder is to stay back and play defensively. They usually play in front of the central defenders. Controlling the the ball around the back, then making runs through to score goals. This position requires fitness. You are required to play both sides of the game. It's useful to be able to run fast. The holding central midfielder is a job reserved for a special player, that sees the field well.

Job of Attacking Midfielder

The attacking midfielder is the goal scorer. Most people assume that the forwards do all the scoring. In all actuality, the central midfielders score a lot of goals also. There job is to make runs though and feed balls to the forward. To be a center mid, you must have stamina, speed, and smarts. The central midfielder is the anchor of the team.  

Top 10 Central Midfielders:

• 10- Esteban Cambiasso, Inter Milan/Argentina
• 9- Javi Martinez, Athletic Bilbao/Spain
• 8- Alex Song, Arsenal/Cameroon
• 7-Scott Parker, Tottenham/England
• 6- Yann M’Vila, Rennes/France
• 5- Javier Mascherano, Barcelona/Argentina
• 4- Daniele De Rossi, Roma/Italy
• 3- Bastian Schweinsteiger, Bayern Munich/Germany
• 2- Sergio Busquets, Barcelona/Spain
• 1- Xabi Alonso, Real Madrid/Spain

 Top 10 reviewed and listed accordingly, found on Fox Soccer (http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer)





Xabi Alonso
Found on Zimbio.com



Endurance Drill

Briefing

Most people know that soccer involves running, but what they do not know is the amount of running athletes do in one game. According to various studies, a player averages approximately 6.2 miles or 10,000 meters. That sounds like a lot, and it is, but players never realize they run that much. It is not a continuous run. Players go from a sprint, to a jog, to a walk, and possibly to a standstill. Most coaches' training workouts include running. While it is nice to be able to run fast, it is not useful if you do not have endurance. Endurance,  or stamina, is the ability or strength to continue or last, especially when facing  fatigue, stress, or other adverse conditions. 

"Bring your running shoes to practice." Players dread hearing this from the coach, but it will help them to build endurance. The following is a drill my coach incorporated into a workout to receive maximum potential for players... 

 

Four Corner Sections

Set up cones at the four corners of a soccer field.
Start the players at one corner.  
Have them sprint the end line from corner to corner.
Then have them  jog the other three sections.
When they get back to the starting corner, you can have them continue or, for extra endurance, add in ten burpies or any ab workout.
If not, continue with the drill.
Have them sprint the end line and the sideline.
Then continue a light jog around the field to the starting corner.
Repeat until they have sprinted around the entire field.

This drill is hard, but it allows the player to build up endurance and play at maximum potential. If the players are more skilled, you can up the sections. Break the field up into six sections. End line, sideline to midfield (x2), end line, sideline to midfield (x2). It will be more difficult, but it is well worth it.

Remember, Soccer is a game of Endurance! 

Player of the Week: Robin Van Persie

 Robin Van Persie

• Squad No: 11
• Position: Forward
• Age: 29
• Birth Date: August 6,1983
• Birth Place: Rotterdam, Netherlands
• Height: 6' 0''
• Weight: 160  lbs  

Robin Van Persie was little known when he came onto the Arsenal team in 2004. Many people consider him one of the best forwards now. In the the 2006, Van Persie joined the Dutch team to play in the World Cup. He plays best in the role of Arsenal's 4-3-3. Van Persie is prone to injury. In 2009, he was out for five months with injury, but despite this, in 2010, he helped lead the Netherlands to the final.

Sport Critics have rated Robin Van Persie in the following catagories:

Strengths: With pace and skill in abundance, this forward can change a game in an instant with his ability to achieve the improbable. He is technically excellent with the vision to unlock a defense, too.
Weaknesses: His injury problems have been well documented, and perhaps sometimes he takes the difficult option when a simple pass would suffice. Not great in the air and there have also been question marks over his temperament.
Career high: He started every match at the 2010 World Cup including the final, and the season after set goalscoring records for Arsenal.
Career low: An 8-2 defeat to Manchester United in early 2011-12 as newly appointed captain saw him describe the match as one of the worst in his life.
Style: Skillful, technical, precise, a potent striker with a delicate touch.
Quotes: "He is very intelligent and talented but most of all he is passionate about the game. At the start we gave him Dennis Bergkamp as a role model. And he has grown into the Bergkamp role. He is becoming like Dennis in his passing - and he scores more goals than Dennis. He respected Dennis and listened to his advice. " Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger in February 2009.

information found on ESPN FC:

 http://soccernet.espn.go.com/player/_/id/18858/robin-van-persie?cc=5901

NCAA D1 Women's College Cup

Penn State(PSU) vs. North Carolina(UNC)

Fitness, depth of the bench, and heart were the key factors of the college cup, which was held in San Diego, California. Both teams had gone into over time in their semifinal matches.

UNC defeated Stanford in their semifinal match, 1-0 . PSU defeated Florida State, 2-1. 

Penn State started out in the hole in the first two minutes with a goal from Kealia Ohai. Taylor Schram cashed in a goal for PSU to tie the game at 1-1, in the 18th minute. The teams went into the locker room tied 1-1. The Tarheels came out on fire in the second half. The Nittany Lions could not keep up with their speed, and the Lions lost 4-1.

Goals in the second half came from Hanna Gardner in the 45th, Satara Murray in the 63rd, and Ranee Premji in the 74th minute. North Carolina had depth in their bench. They used most of their reserves due to the exhaustion of their starters. The loss ruined Penn State Coach’s Erica Walsh's quest to become the second female coach to win a women’s soccer championship.

The Nittany Lions (21-5-2) did, however, become the first team from the Big Ten to reach the finals. They fought an uphill battle, playing some of the best ACC teams to qualify. Overall, Erica Walsh was happy with their performance. (To view the entire bracket, highlights, ect. visit the NCAA website)

Highlight Video

http://www.ncaa.com/video/soccer-women/2012-12-02/tar-heels-pick-21st-national-championship

Defenseive Stance

Most people when they start playing soccer, want to play offense. In all actuality, the defense is the most important part of a team. Some people argue the point that without the offense there would be no goals produced, but others may say that without defenders the other team will score on you. The most famous defensive quote is, "The Defense wins championships, the offense is just there." I'm not siding with either of them because I think soccer is a joint effort between the defense and offense. I play both sides of the game. on my high school team, I play forward, but on my club team i usually play in the stopper position of a back four diamond. to be a successful defender you need to learn the basics.

Step 1: Determine whether you or one of your teammates should pressure the ball first. This may be difficult due to the position of the attacking player. The rule of thumb is the closet person pressures first. (I use the word pressure various times, which means to attack, or go for the ball.)
Step 2: Step up to the player attacking, with a slight bend in the knees and one arm length away. You want to be able to reach out and touch the player while defending. Keep your feet moving and hands at your side.(hint: if they are doing step overs or any other move, look at their stomach)
Step 3: Try and decide when to tackle. You must go in hard! if you do not, you could get injured.
Step 4: Win the ball!